While the number of Macs infected by the Flashback malware is seemingly in decline now, the security reverberations for Apple continue. The discovery of the botnet a couple of weeks ago -- and Apple's response -- has prompted criticism by IT security pros, concern among Mac users and even some smug told-you-so's from Windows users who've watched for years while Apple and its fans derided the the omnipresent malware issues plaguing PCs.

Security by obscurity, if it ever existed, is no more.

Now that Apple and several third-party software firms have produced detection and removal tools, it's time to take stock of the situation and dig a little deeper. What does the Flashback debacle mean for Mac users, Apple itself and the businesses that have increasingly adopted Macs? And does it affect those with iPads and iPhones?

Excellent and well rounded article by Ryan Faas. He doesn't pull any punches which is I think a good thing. This type of article is very important if Apple is to grow up in this malware infested world we live in. They need to be open, honest, and quick to respond. ALWAYS!

This is the type of scrutiny Microsoft had to endure when it was being foolish about malware in the beginning as well.